


not like the flu

by hailingstars



Series: someone gets hurt (febuwhump 2021) [25]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Dealing With Trauma, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Nightmares, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony finds out the warehouse incident, i'm tired guys, just two days leffftttt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29726307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailingstars/pseuds/hailingstars
Summary: “Tony?” asked Peter.“Peter,” said Tony. He paused the TV, and turned around. “What are you doing up?”“Was gonna ask you the same thing.” Peter plopped down on the couch.“Couldn’t sleep. Your turn.”“Nightmare,” said Peter, though the horror of the dream, the memory really, has diminished in Tony’s presence.ORPeter has a nightmare regarding the warehouse being dropped on him, and Tony helps him through it.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: someone gets hurt (febuwhump 2021) [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138436
Comments: 25
Kudos: 191
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	not like the flu

Peter couldn’t breathe. 

He gasped for air, and tried to thrash around under the rubble that pinned him to the ground. It was useless. He was stuck, and his mind spun with thoughts about dying, about leaving May behind, about how Tony would blame himself. 

He tried for one, good last breath, but instead his eyes snapped open. He wasn’t under a collapsed building. He was on his bed, in his bedroom and Tony and Pepper’s place. Rubble didn’t pin him down. He was just impossibly tangled in his sheets and the comforter. 

After unclenching his fists, Peter focused on taking deep, steady breaths, trying to ease the adrenaline out of his system. Bringing himself back to reality after those nightmares was difficult sometimes. Harder some nights than it was others. 

It took him only a few minutes to realize it was going to be a hard night, so he sighed, rubbed his eyes, and untangled himself from the blankets. His feet sunk into the carpet, and carried him through the house, towards the kitchen.

What he wasn’t expecting was to be met with the soft glow and gentle, low tones of the TV, coming from the living room. Curiosity had him changing courses, curiosity and hope, because some company after a nightmare was always comforting. Even if he’d never admit it, or intentionally seek it out. 

“Tony?” asked Peter.

“Peter,” said Tony. He paused the TV, and turned around. “What are you doing up?” 

“Was gonna ask you the same thing.” Peter plopped down on the couch. 

“Couldn’t sleep. Your turn.” 

“Nightmare,” said Peter, though the horror of the dream, the memory really, has diminished in Tony’s presence. 

Tony Stark might have retired from Iron Man, but Peter never saw it that way. There was always comfort and safety around him, as if his presence were some kind of bubble, some kind of home. 

“Know what helps Morgan with nightmares?” 

“What?” 

“Juice pops,” answered Tony. “Hang tight.” 

Tony disappeared from the living room and reappeared with two juice pop Peter gladly accepted. He fully believed Morgan. There was something magical about popsicles. Maybe it was just because that was one May had given to make him feel better when he was sick as a kid, or maybe it’s the coldness.

It was refreshing to his senses. Something that grounded him, pulled him further out of dreamland. 

“So, wanna talk about it?” asked Tony. “Was it the snap dream again?” 

He can’t really blame Tony for thinking it. He’d been plagued with nightmares about that day on Titan, too, and he was surprised to have dreamed about being stuck under the building. He thought he had passed that. Thought he’d gone through tougher things, so it wouldn’t matter anymore. 

“Uh, no,” said Peter. “It was a different one.” 

Tony’s face creased with worry, only visible from light the glow of the paused TV created. Peter knew he’d never get away without elaborating, so he tried to think of the best way to go about explaining the building incident. 

“Um,” started Peter, not wanting to have this conversation, and relive an experience that was cringe for both of them. “Do you remember all that drama? With Toomes?” 

“Yeah… are you dreaming about saving more of my tech from being stolen?”

“Not exactly. I never told you this, but uh, Toomes sort of dropped a building on me.”

_ “What?” _

“Well, yeah, but it isn’t really a big deal anymore -”

“-not a big deal?” Tony’s eyes were wide, filled with terror, and Peter heard the speed of his heartbeat accelerate. “Now I’m gonna have nightmares, kid.” 

“It’s over now,” said Peter, though that really went unsaid. It felt like so long ago. Decades, really, and he supposed for people like Tony, who weren’t forced to skip five years, it felt even longer. 

“Sorry, Pete,” said Tony. “I should’ve been there. I should have paid more attention back then.” 

“It’s fine. I got out okay.” Peter sighed, and leaned his back against the couch, letting himself relax and sink into the cushions. “It’s just - I should be over it by now, right? Worse things have happened to me. I should be over it.” 

“Not how it works, Pete,” said Tony. “With things like this, it doesn’t matter. Some nights, all that trauma, it all just weighs the same.” 

“Yeah.” He echoed. He tossed the empty popsicle stick on the table. “Just wished you could get better from it, you know, like it was the flu.” 

“That’d be nice,” said Tony, agreeing with him. “It’ll get better. One day, the nightmares will get further and further apart. And you’ll have bad nights, sure, but most of the time you’re losing sleep due to kids or a pain in your arm.” 

Peter forced out a chuckle, determined to feel anything other than the small sadness he felt whenever he was reminded that recovery was a long, winding road. That many more bad nights were ahead of him, and that his trauma, both with being buried and snapped away, would always be part of him. 

“Why don’t you try and get some sleep?” asked Tony. He stood up, and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. “We’ve still got a couple more hours before the gremlin wakes up and starts demanding my famous gummy bear pancakes.” 

“Yeah, okay,” said Peter. He stretched out on the couch, and allowed Tony to toss the blanket over him. 

“I’m gonna hire a hitman,” said Tony. He dropped down in the armchair. “Have Toomes taken care of.” 

Peter rolled his eyes. “And you wonder why I don’t tell you things.” 

“You know I’m kidding.”

He twisted around on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position. He shut his eyes, but Tony’s thoughts were still too loud. The TV had not yet been switched back on. 

“Sort of. I’m sort of kidding.” 

“Tonnnnyyyy,” said Peter, with a whine. “Just let it go.” 

“Fine,” he said. “But the next time someone drops a building on you I get to hire a hitman.” 

“Deal.” 

The TV unpaused, and Peter shut his eyes, being lured back to sleep by Tony’s annoying, but comforting presence. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> fjdklsafjkl just two more days left!! I'm running out of steam but let's face it I've been running on empty since like the 15th lmao
> 
> anyways!! thanks for reading!!
> 
> comments and kudos let me know what you think!! <3


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